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U.S. gives grant to preserve indian archive

New Delhi, India, November 04, 2004

U.S. Ambassador David C. Mulford today announced a grant to assist the Surabhi National Audio-Visual Archive in Mumbai to digitize its rich collection of professionally filmed videotapes on Indian culture. The $25,000 (Rs.11.26 lakhs) grant presented to Mr. Siddharth Kak, Executive Director of Surabhi, is to be used to support the digitization of Surabhi's audio-visual recordings of 185 archaeological sites for preservation and accessibility, and the collection will be made accessible via the Internet.

The Surabhi Foundation for Research and Cultural Exchange is a trust created as a platform for the preservation and presentation of India's culture and heritage through various media-related pathways. No other institution in India possesses such a focused collection of professionally filmed videotapes in the field of Indian culture.

In making the announcement, U.S. Ambassador to India David C. Mulford said the Surabhi grant is a reflection of the U.S. interest in India's rich heritage and cultural diversity. "We are pleased to be able to cooperate with the Surabhi National Audio-Visual Archive as it moves ahead to preserve its wonderful videotape collection," he said.

The India grant is provided through the U.S. Department of State's Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation. Established by the U.S. Congress in 2001, the Ambassador's Fund aims to assist countries preserve their cultural heritage. Since its inception, the program has awarded 205 grants totaling $4.2 million in 96 countries, including India.

The grants for 2004 represent the heritage of all geographic regions and vary from archive preservation to museum collections, historic sites and ethnographic documentation. The U.S. Government promotes cooperation with other countries to reduce the threat of pillage of irreplaceable cultural heritage, and to develop long-term strategies for preserving cultural property.

Two other Indian projects have received U.S. funding. In 2003, a grant of $20,619 (Rs.9.8 lakhs) was given for a special preservation project at the Medhi Talao Ensemble site at Champaner-Pavagadh, Gujarat. Champaner-Pavagadh is on the World Monument Fund's List of 100 most endangered heritage sites and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for 2004.

In 2001, a $20,076 (Rs.9.4 lakhs) grant was provided to the National Center for the Promotion of Employment for Disabled People in New Delhi for a series of activities designed to inform and educate the Indian government and public about the need to make historic monuments accessible to persons with disabilities, while carefully preserving the historic and architectural integrity of the sites.

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